Here is Vacay.ca’s list of the top festivals happening across the country for April:

Ontario

EDITORS’ PICK!!!LOL Sudbury
SudburyDates: 17-20
Cheech & Chong and RickMercer — how’s that for a combination? Those are just some of the performances that will split your gut in Sudbury.

EDITORS’ PICK!!!Shaw Festival
Niagara-on-the-LakeDates: April to October
The Shaw Festival presents plays in four distinctive theatres: the Festival Theatre (the Shaw’s flagship theatre), the historic Court House Theatre, the Royal George Theatre and the Studio Theatre. Guys & Dolls is among the productions scheduled for 2013. Click here to see what is planned for the upcoming season.

Elmvale Maple Syrup Festival
ElmvaleDates: 20
Every year the sleepy town of Elmvale celebrates liquid gold. The town transforms into a shoppers’ mall — vendors line the streets with offerings of maple syrup, food galore, book sales, collectible sales among other country treasures.

Food and Drink Fest
HamiltonDates: 12-14
International wines and spirits, craft beers, and culinary treats created by some of the Hamilton, Burlington and Niagara Regions’ most popular restaurants, breweries and wineries. A wide range of exhibitors.

Ontario Silent Films Festival
TorontoDates: 4-9
Every year, the Toronto Silent Film Festival screens some of the world’s finest silent films. The films screened at the Toronto Silent Film Festival are part of cinema history—a history that stretches from the late-19 th Century to the present.

Rubber Boots Festival des Bottes de caoutchouc
NoelvilleDates: 11
A maple syrup and music spring celebration in the Land of the Voyageurs. Entertainment, artisans and vendors, food and drink, games and activities, contests and prizes, and, of course, music and dancing!

Calgary Spoken Word Festival
Banff and CalgaryDates: 6-29
The term “Spoken Word Artist” refers to and encompasses all artists/poets working in the oral tradition. This includes all jazz poets, dub poets, hip-hop poets, slam poets, storytellers and folk artists. Spoken Word also includes poetry bouts. Several outstanding artists will be taking part in the festival this year, and there will be several events that the whole family will enjoy.

British Columbia

World Ski & Snowboard Festival
WhistlerDates: 12-21
This annual fest is a 10-day showcase of the latest progressions in the skiing and snowboarding world, where even the arts events are packed full of adrenaline. Come see Canada’s largest free outdoor concert series. See action-packed events, photography and film, the best spring snow conditions, and burn-the-candle nightlife.

Winnipeg Wine Festival
WinnipegDates: April 18 – May 4, 2013
From unique events to a gala dinner and auction, there’s something for every wine lover at this festival. Now in its 12th year, Winnipeg’s public tastings boast the highest attendance in the country, with well over 6,500 people enjoying hundreds of wines from around the world.

New Brunswick

EDITORS’ PICK!!!Maple Capital of Atlantic Canada Festival
MonctonDates: 22-28
The Frye Festival is Canada’s only bilingual international literary festival and the largest literary event in Atlantic Canada. This event features workshops, book clubs, dialogues, readings, debates and lectures take place all day and night in schools, cafés, restaurants, bars, theatres, shopping malls and libraries.

Toonik Tyme Festival
Baffin, IqaluitDates: 12-21
Since 1965, residents of Iqaluit have been celebrating spring with Toonik Tyme — a week of games, music, competition and feasting. The schedule includes traditional Inuit activities such as igloo building, dog team races, Inuit games, and a seal-skinning contest.

EDITORS’ PICK!!!Celebration of Swans
WhitehorseDates: 13-21
A great line up of events happening during the celebration and throughout Yukon’s Biodiversity Awareness Month. Over this nine-day period visitors flock to open water, making the Celebration of Swans the largest birding event in the Yukon Territory. Approximately 10% of Yukoners make their way to Marsh Lake each year to see this spring spectacle.

About the Author

Vacay

Vicky is the worldly publisher of Vacay.ca. Having graduated from McGill University in Montreal, she has set about building a talented team of travel experts to deliver to you words and images of the very best places to see and experience in Canada. Based in Yorkville in Toronto, Vicky regularly jet sets around Canada — be sure to catch up with her when she's in your part of the country.